Partner with
complimentary
businesses to run
more effective social
campaigns

As analytical tools now allow brands to
see the crossover in fan bases that they
may have with other businesses, partnering holds huge potential for organisations
that can get it right. It’s the ideal opportunity to leverage another brand’s fan base,
and the money saving element will also
appeal with those who are trying to make
their budgets go further. It goes without
saying that wise choices should be made
about the type of business that you’re
happy to have associated with your brand.

36

Encourage Instagram
users to share pictures
of events with a designated hashtag

If you’re holding an event, ask attendees to upload pictures of their experience to Instagram using a designated
hashtag. This is a great way to reach
a large audience of people over a
short period of time, and because the
pictures are personal snaps and not official images by a photographer, they’re
much more credible when it comes
to influencing the audience. After the
event, it’s easy to bring all of the images together. They can then be used
as marketing tools for future events.

38

Consider harnessing
the power of celebrity
on Twitter

When it comes to celebrity, Twitter is the place to be. Famous
tweeters acquire hundreds of
thousands of followers, and in
many cases, these audiences are
available for brands to tap into. Snickers recently ran a campaign with Katie
Price and Rio Ferdinand that gained
much press coverage. It’s a good option
for marketers who have a budget for
their social media campaigns but want
to go beyond the traditional advertising options that are available. Celebrity
endorsements aren’t new, but coupling
them with social is an avenue that is yet
to be fully realised.

39

Optimise your offline advertising to boost your Twitter profile

Offline advertising shouldn’t be seen as a separate entity. For maximum impact, use offline marketing such as TV adverts to encourage
people to continue the conversation on social networks. Audi proved
how much of a success this could be when they included the hashtag
#ProgressIs in their Super Bowl advert. Twitter was flooded with mentions of the
hashtag for a month afterwards, further encouraging users to think about the brand.
An open-ended hashtag that allows users to add their own thoughts to the discussion
is an excellent way to boost audience participation. This approach is much less intrusive that messages that simply state ‘follow us on Twitter’, and much more effective.

40

Invest in
a Promoted Account
on Twitter

Promoted Accounts are
an advertising option offered by Twitter for
brands who take their social media seriously and want to boost their targeted followers. Twitter promote these accounts in
front of users that are likely to be interested
in the business, based on their interests
and the accounts that they’ve already chosen to follow. So, for example, if you own a
restaurant chain, your account may be suggested to those who already follow several
other food outlets or chefs who specialise in
the cuisine that you serve.